Monday, March 31, 2014

Career Warfare - Book

I grabbed this book some time ago, trying to understand brand building a bit. At a presentation recently someone asked me if I had any books to read, and this was the only one that came to mind.

careerwarfare

The author is the CEO of John Hancock Financial Services, and he goes over a number of things that worked well for him in his career, and some things that didn't. Overall I think it is good advice, though perhaps conservative.

As an example, he mentions not drinking at social events with colleagues or your boss as you can only look bad. I somewhat agree that you can look bad, but having a drink or two, interspaced with water, nursed perhaps, can help you fit in. He also doesn't recommend bringing spouses to your events as they can make you look bad as well.

The book treats events more like war, and in large corporations, that might be true if you're climbing the ladder. However there isn't always such a kill or be killed mentality for most of us when we're trying to fit into a group.

I'd read the advice, take it with a grain of salty, but above all, remember to maintain your moral compass as you search for a job and look to get promotions.

Monday, March 24, 2014

No Quick Fixes

I gave my career talk recently at an event and quite a few people had questions about starting careers (in or just out of college) or finding another job (out of work). I answered as best I could, but there was one thing that I emphasized over and over and need to do here.

There is no quick fix.

The things I suggest to you, the ideas for building your brand and creating a modern resume can work and they will help you. However they take time. They take an investment in yourself across time.

You don't build a network in a month. It takes many months and years.

You don't build a blob that showcases your knowledge in a few weeks. It's a journey and a chronicle across time.

You don't volunteer, or lead, or research, or anything else in short periods of time.

Build your brand, slowly, steadily, using determination and focus, but remember that it takes time to get there.

Friday, March 21, 2014

Out of touch

My apologies for the delays in posting new content. There's no shortage, but I keep getting distracted with work. I've almost run over my own "update every quarter" time limit without a post.

I'll work on a few and get back to weekly posts next week (I hope).

In the meantime, I hope you're enjoying your career, and here's a short video to watch. If you don't find these three things in your career, start to make a change.